As a follow on from last weeks post Connemara Textures here are some sketches done over the years, mostly fast scribbles in an effort to catch some of the energy of the west, and all in black and white as so far I have not attempted to capture the colours.I have included a few earlier ones from Inisbofin in the 1990s*. There has been quite a loosening in my style since then, and even since 2010. Maybe that looseness comes as near as possible to capturing that energy…

*Inisbofin-the Island of the White Cow-is a stunning little island off Cleggan, near Clifden. I made a few trips there with theatre crews from Waterford in the early 1990s. One of them was for a WDS production of Big Maggie which was hilarious and deserving of a post in its own right. I remember on that occasion being…

Tofino a small fishing village located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia is an artist dream for sketching and painting. It’s lovely with pristine scenery that is undisturbed by other unpleasant objects; the ambience remains its wild self. It has long sandy beaches for walking; small wooded and rocky islands near shoreline to explore or sketch; the weather can be warm and dry at this time of the year; thankfully it was for us.

In the small village the views of the near outer islands located in the protected sound are absolutely amazing. My husband and I sat on a park bench enjoying the nearby waterfront activity: Float planes landing and taking off; kayakers, small boats, and barges heading toward the beautiful passages between the small dark forested islands; we could see a First Nations village on the waterfront located on one of the several islands in the distance. It was…